This weblog was created to act as a platform for the voice of secular pro-democracy activists in and outside Iran who are struggling against the religious dictatorship of the Islamic clerics in Iran.
My favourite quote:
"Evil only prevails when the good stay silent"

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Who is Ahmadinejad's American Advisor?

Seyyed Hamid Molana, president Ahmadinejad's special advisor in international relations was born in Tabriz in 1936. His family were forced to move to Tehran, after his father was briefly detained by the pro-Soviet forces who occupied Azerbijan and tried to secede the province from Iran.

The post war years in Iran coincided with much political turbulence, including the nationalisation of Iran's oil industry. The universities during these years became a hotbed of political activity but Hamid Molana chose not to get involved.

Molana explains his apathy during these years by saying neither Leftist or right wing politics at the time appealed to him and he was yearning for an Islamic movement. Not that this makes sense, Islamists were also active during this time and co-operated with the coup against Mossadegh in 1953.

When Molana was 19, he lost both his parents in a tragic car accident, but fortune came his way after this tragedy when he won a scholarship from the American embassy in Tehran to study in the United States. Molana then became an American citizen and lived there for over forty years.

His academic achievements and awards are very impressive if you are into these academic accolades. Just to mention a few from a very long list they include International Communication Association's award for outstanding research in 1977; American University's School of International Service Award for Outstanding Contribution to Academic Development in 1980 and 1988; for Thirty Years of Distinguished Leadership and Scholarship in 1998; and the Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award in 2000. He was the recipient of the International Studies Association's Distinguished Senior Scholar Award in International Communication at its 43rd Annual Conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana in March 2002.

During the 1979 Islamic revolution, Molana again showed no obvious involvement as far as I can gather. Suddenly however, Molana becomes Ahmadinejad's special advisor in international relations, to the extent that he claims to be behind much of Ahmadinejad's recent high profile international trips including Columbia university and Geneva.

Last week Molana spoke to seminary students in Shiraz at the Hafez Hall and made more outrageous remarks. Some extracts of his speech:

'In the field of international relations and foreign policy, Iran has made great successes in the last four years...so much so that even our enemies admit to it'

'In the world of politics today, there is no charm without Ahmadinejad, and between me and you there will be no fun in the media either'

He also credited the Islamic revolution for the downfall of the Soviet Union by saying 'Listen to me as someone who lived in Washington for 41 years, they thought there will be no end to the cold war, yet within two years of the Islamic revolution in Iran, it brought about changes that led to the velvet revolutions'

Molana then referred to Latin America and quoted Hilary Clinton as saying ' the situation in Latin America which was our backyard has changed and we need to become more active there.' And after quoting Clinton, Molana asked 'What does this mean? Who is it that has upset them [Americans] in Latin America?'

Molana even criticised those who question Ahmadienjad bringing messianic issues in international relations by saying 'Those who question why the messianic beliefs are brought into international relationships by president Ahmadinejad do not have a good knowledge of international relations literature, for a large part of international relations has a messianic theme to it'

This acclaimed US academic then went on praising Ahmadienjad for his work on justice and monotheism and so on, that I can not even be bothered to write about. The question that I can not answer however is how is it that a US citizen for 41 years without any revolutionary credentials suddenly becomes president Ahmadinejad's special advisor on international relations?

And my second question is, it seems Molana owes much of his success in life because of that American scholarship he received at the age of 19, which changed his life, after 41 years in US, living there as a successful and respected US citizen, how does one become so disloyal as to walk over the flag of the country, shown in the picture above, which gave him all he has?

12 comments:

barmakid
said...

Azarmehr,

Your confusion comes from the antiquated notion that the Iranian government only hires people with revolutionary credentials - this isn't the 80s or 90s. The IRI is ruthlessly pragmatic and only uses its ideology (Islam) as a tool in its international relations tool-kit. Remember, they did buy weapons from Israel on 3 different occasions during the war with Iraq.

I accept what you say about the regime being pragmatic Barmakid but even so I am suspicious of the real agenda of Molana. How can someone who has been a US citizen for 41 years and benefitted so much from his citizenship and his scholarship be so disloyal and walk on an American flag and still go back and forward to US and win these accolades. Something isn't right here and I dont quite know what it is. I don't generally have a lot of regard for academics but Molana is too much even for me

It is healthy to be suspicious. But first let me say, we should all at least be proud that an Iranian reached such academic heights. But aside from that, loyalty has no place in international relations, not even between the U.S. and Britain - it's simply the perception of loyalty.

Furthermore, Molani is not walking all over any flag. If anything he is walking over the Iranian flag by working for Ahmadinejad:))

Also, loyalty to a country is different than accepting its foreign policies. I am loyal to the American way of life, i.e. freedom of speech, thought, expression, etc. But what I am not loyal to is just any adopted foreign policy, whether by Obama Bush.

Ah! There you go with your academic jargon and twisting of the facts. You dont need to lecture me with what loyalty to a country is. I am loyal to Iran but not to the ruling government and its foreign policies. I don't need your lecture.Molana is walking over the American flag as shown in the picture! I can't see how clearer that can be and why you need to become poetic about what walking over the flag really means.

This guy has been an agent of the Iranian mullahs in the US since early 1980s. I just don't know how the US security services have not identified him as a threat and deported this asshole back to Iran.

1) USA et al are behind the power of the IRI, so it is as easy as that to have Molana work for Ahmadinejad after 41 years of life and schooling in the US. Think of it as another mechanical part to the IRI machine that was manufactured in the US (and no, I'm not anti-american, but I am aware of the deception of the higher politics).

OR

2) Molana was planted in the US by the IRI, to then return and work for them. Makes sense to me, these guys are thugs, but they are scheming, and organised thugs.

Summer holidays before the revolution brought Dr. Hamid Mowlana back from the campus of the American university to the throes of loud music and heavy partying at the famous Tehran discotheque for the elite called the Key Club.

Unlike others however, the Dr. did not have to wait in line to get in. No he would be ushered in as a VIP!

After all, Hamid Mowlana was an eager groupie of Mahmoud-Reza Pahlavi, the handsome and party loving brother of the late Shah.

Another chance to express the ignorance that has led to such an election and the results they produced. Perhaps the Iranian people are not ready to evolve to a civilized democracy and should cower to that which suppressing them willingly.

About Me

Follow Me on Twitter @potkazar
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Last time I was in Iran, was during the Islamic "cultural revolution". I hated what was taking place in front of my eyes.
Illiterate gangs of thugs attacking students and academics and telling them how a university must be run! Book stalls being attacked, with books torn up and burned.
I knew then that I had to do something to get rid of this scourge of clerics who had seized power in Iran.
My main objective in life is to help establish a secular democracy in Iran.
I believe the best way forward for Iran to be based on four pillars of Democracy, Secularism, Nationalism and Meritocracy.
Most countries that have adopted these principles have been prosperous, why shouldn't our people be one of them?